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Parts to Construct Moor House Wind Farm to Arrive in September

A turbine blade being delivered to Banks Renewables' Lambs Hill wind farm near Stockton last year

The construction of a new £17.5m wind farm near Darlington will reach a major step forward this week with the arrival of the first components on site.

Banks Renewables is building the Moor House wind farm on land to the north east of Barmpton, around three miles to the east of the A1, and has been working with lead contractor Hall Construction Services Ltd over the last few months to prepare the site for the construction of its six wind turbines.

The turbine blades and hubs are scheduled to arrive at Teesport in mid-September and will be transported to the Moor House site via the A66, A1150 and Bishopton Lane, while the first tower sections and other component parts are due to arrive on site in early September.

Deliveries are being organised outside busy periods to minimise delays to road local users, and will continue until mid-October.

Construction of the first turbine is set to begin in mid to late September. Testing and commissioning work will follow once all the turbines are in place, and the scheme remains on schedule to start generating clean green energy early in the new year.

The Moor House wind farm will be the ninth onshore wind farm that County Durham-headquartered Banks Renewables has built, and a range of contracts relating to different elements of its development have been awarded to local firms.

Details of how applications can be made by local groups to the £750,000 community benefits fund that will be part of the Moor House wind farm’s operations will be released in the autumn.

An annual allowance of £15,000 will be available in support of local community groups, environmental projects and voluntary organisations, while the same amount again will be available every year to support activities related to employment and training opportunities.

A further one-off allocation of £50,000 will be ring-fenced for energy efficiency and micro-renewables projects within the area surrounding the wind farm.

Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, adds: “The Moor House site is now fully prepared for the start of construction work, and we’re excited at the prospect of seeing the turbines rise from the ground.

“Our delivery schedule is being timed to minimise any local traffic disruption, and we are working closely with the local authorities, our contractors, the police, the Moor House community liaison committee and people living in the immediate vicinity to ensure everything is done with maximum efficiency.

“The Moor House wind farm is bringing direct employment, economic and supply chain benefits to the local area, and will also have a substantial long-term impact on the facilities available for local people through the community fund linked to the clean, green electricity that it generates.

“Modern, efficient, indigenous onshore wind farms such as Moor House are acknowledged as providing the lowest cost form of renewable energy generation, and we are looking forward to seeing the turbines beginning to turn within the next few months.”